Malema confronted Moller for calling workers ka**irs – EFF

The Economic Freedom Fighters has lambasted civil-rights group AfriForum for defending “racists”.

The party today argued that their commander in chief, Julius Malema, was in fact protecting workers of a restaurant in Tzaneen, Limpopo, from “racist” attacks by the AfriForum member who was involved in the altercation with Malema.

EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi today confirmed that Malema and a group of EFF members were involved in an altercation with Cassie Moller on August 6.

Ndlozi was responding to AfriForum’s release of CCTV footage, which showed the altercation between Moller and Malema.

He said Malema had stopped for refreshments at the Tzaneen filling station when he saw “a drunk white man aggressively moving out of his car, rushing into the Steers shop”.

Ndlozi said Moller hurled racist insults, using the word “ka**ir”.

“At this point CIC [Malema] followed the man and witnessed him shouting f*** and ka**ir at female workers. He approached him and told him to stop what he was doing and step aside to allow workers to do their job. The CIC strongly indicated to him that he must be mindful that workers are overworked and underpaid and that he must immediately desist from insulting workers,” said Ndlozi.

“After the CIC, together with other customers, successfully removed him physically from the position of shouting and insulting workers he left the shop. He returned shortly after getting his order from his lady friend. The man was seen aggressively spinning the car away ... he even almost crashed into petrol tanks, risking the lives of everyone

He also questioned why Steers was “collaborating” with “racists of AfriForum” to defend a racist man, adding that the party was proud of Malema for defending black employees.

“The EFF is proud of the CIC in that he has truly defended black workers who daily face abuse from both their employers as well as arrogant, racist and bullying white customers. It is the duty of all fighters to confront racism each time it rears its ugly head. It is also the duty of EFF members everywhere to defend the dignity of black vulnerable workers without any apology or hesitation as the policies of EFF state,” said Ndlozi.

He accused AfriForum of being “selective” in its interpretation of events, which resulted in Moller laying charges of crimen injuria, intimidation and assault against Malema at the Tzaneen Police Station today.

“The CIC will never apologise and the EFF stands firmly with him. Black dignity has long been degraded by centuries of slavery and colonisation. The EFF and all its members have a duty to make sure to confront it each time they see a sign of it, or each time they hear a sigh of racism,” said Ndlozi.

He labelled the laying of charges and the release of the so-called “assault” video as “an attempt to protect racism and the racists”.

“It is a case of the white racist arrogance of one individual now taking the form of a collective response. AfriForum is basically acting as a lynch mob like the KKK [Ku Klux Klan], who used to collectively respond each time when one white racist had been put in its place by blacks. AfriForum can be sure that EFF will never allow any racist offensive on black folks. Not under our watch and not in our lifetime,” said Ndlozi.

In a written affidavit, Moller said he felt intimidated by Malema and accused him of being “hostile”.

“When I turned around there was a person standing very close to me and who asked me in a very hostile way: ‘Who do you think you are?’ He repeatedly asked the question and in between the questions he called me ‘Boer’ [a descendant of the Dutch or Huguenot colonists]. At that point I recognised the person as Julius Malema.

“He also started telling us [Moller and his wife]: ‘Get Out! Get Out’ and he called me a Boer again,” reads Moller’s affidavit.

He said he tried to explain to Malema that he was “not here to fight anyone” but Malema’s group began surrounding him and his wife.

“Julius Malema became more aggressive and started shouting. He started pushing me against my will and he tried physically to remove me from the restaurant.

“I continued to explain that I did not want to fight but Julius Malema’s aggressiveness just increased. He started shouting louder and swore at me in the words: ‘F*ck you, you Boer! F*ck you.’ During the shouting, I also heard him telling me: ‘I will f*ck you up.’”

AfriForum deputy chief executive Ernst Roets said they were helping Moller in his case because Malema was a “bully”.

“The video footage clearly shows how Malema pushes the victim at least three times, how he waves his finger in the victim’s face and how Malema yells at him. Although the CCTV cameras did not capture audio, the victim submitted an affidavit at the police station confirming under oath the verbal assault that took place. Malema cursed the victim and called him a Boer. The incident sketches a clear image of Malema as a bully who regards himself above the law and his fellow citizens. We cannot allow public representatives to act like criminals without facing the consequences,” said Roets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBCXRq8HG40

Join the conversation!

24.com encourages commentary submitted via MyNews24. Contributions of 200 words or more will be considered for publication.

We reserve editorial discretion to decide what will be published. Read our comments policy for guidelines on contributions.

24.com publishes all comments posted on articles provided that they adhere to our Comments Policy. Should you wish to report a comment for editorial review, please do so by clicking the 'Report Comment' button to the right of each comment.

Tell us a bit about yourself:

Saving your profile

Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location.
If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a
location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to
take affect.

Your Location*

Weather*

Always remember my setting

Saving your settings

Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.